Consumers complaints about advertising rose by more than half last year according to Advertising Standards Canada’s (ASC) Ad Complaints Report for 2011.
The report, released Tuesday, reveals that consumers registered 1,809 complaints about advertisements in 2011– 51% more than in 2010.
The number of complaints was also the highest in more than 10 years.
• 177 complaints were reviewed by the ASC’s independent Standards Councils for possible contraventions of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. 146 complaints, which pertained to 84 ads, were upheld by the councils.
• 604 of the 1,210 complaints that met conditions for review set out in the Code were registered under Clause 1, which covers accuracy and clarity, or Clause 3, which covers price claims.
• 98 complaints, referring to 71 different advertisements, were upheld by Councils.
• 553 complaints concerned Clause 14, which covers “unacceptable depictions or portrayals.” Councils upheld 43 complaints about eight advertisements under Clause 14.
It was the first year that complaints about accuracy and price claims outnumbered those about unfair portrayals. In its report, the ASC theorizes that the increase in Clause 1 and Clause 3 complaints owes to the challenging economic climate and a bargain-hunting consumer base.
The report posits that these same factors resulted in the retail category leading the way in terms of complaints – 252 complaints were registered about retail advertising in 2011.
Service industry advertising, with 242 complaints, food advertising (149) and alcoholic beverage advertising (121) were the other categories that generated more than 100 complaints.
The report also addresses the proliferation of daily deal and group-buying websites and associated complaints. ASC Standards Councils reviewed several complaints pertaining to daily deal advertisements and found that many such advertisements contravened Code regulations about accuracy and clarity.
The ASC advises daily deal and group-buying site operators that they, not the businesses enlisting their services, are considered the advertisers for the purposes of the Code and must be prepared to substantiate any of the claims made in advertisements created on behalf of their clients.
The report concludes with research about consumer attitudes toward advertising. Underscoring the value Canadian consumers place on truthfulness in advertising, 89% said they would “vote with their wallet” if an advertiser failed to meet their expectations in terms of accuracy.
Despite the significant increase in complaints, 79% of respondents in the ASC-commissioned survey, which was conducted by the Gandalf Group, said advertising provides them with value.
